Fact Sheet Number 505
- WHAT IS HEPATITIS?
- VIRAL HEPATITIS
- OTHER TYPES OF HEPATITIS
- MEDICATION PROBLEMS
- ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
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PrintHepatitis means an inflammation, or swelling, of the liver. Viruses
can cause hepatitis. Alcohol, drugs (including prescription medications),
or poisons can also cause hepatitis. Another cause can be an opportunistic
infection such as Mycobacterium Avium Complex
(MAC) or Cytomegalovirus (CMV).
Hepatitis is a very common disease. It can affect people even
if their immune systems are healthy. Hepatitis can lead to scarring
(cirrhosis) of the liver and liver failure, which can be fatal.
Many cases of hepatitis aren’t treated because people think
they have the flu. The most common symptoms are loss of appetite,
fatigue, fever, body aches, nausea and vomiting, and stomach pain.
In more serious cases, people may have dark urine, light-colored
bowel movements, and a yellowing of the skin or of the eyes (jaundice).
Your doctor will check your blood to see if your liver is working
normally. These “liver function” tests measure the amounts
of certain chemicals: bilirubin, AST, and ALT (or SGOT and SGPT).
High blood levels can be a sign of hepatitis. Blood tests also
look for the viruses that can cause hepatitis. Sometimes, a sample
of the liver is taken with a needle and tested for signs of infection.
VIRAL
HEPATITIS
Scientists know about five viruses that can cause hepatitis. They
are called hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E viruses, or HAV, HBV, and
so on.
Viral hepatitis can be acute or chronic. Acute means that you
get sick for a couple of weeks, but then recover. Chronic hepatitis
means that the liver might be inflamed for six months or more.
Chronic hepatitis stays in your body; you can infect other people,
and your disease can become active again.
Hepatitis A and E are both acute diseases. They are spread
by contact with fecal matter, either directly or through food
that was handled by someone with contaminated hands. Hep A and
Hep E do not cause chronic illness.
Hepatitis B is the most common hepatitis virus. It can be transmitted
among family members, through sexual contact, or contact with
infected blood. A few people who get hepatitis B develop chronic
hepatitis.
Hepatitis C is usually spread by contact with blood or contaminated
needles. Hepatitis C can be very mild or show no symptoms, but
can cause serious liver damage 10 years after the initial infection.
Almost everyone infected with hepatitis C becomes a carrier.
Hepatitis D only shows up in people who get hepatitis B. People
who get type D get sicker than people who just have type B.
The best way to prevent viral hepatitis is through cleanliness
and by avoiding close contact, or contact with the blood, of infected
people. Condoms can help prevent transmission of hepatitis B.
Also, there are vaccines that can protect you against developing
hepatitis A and B, even if you’ve already been exposed to them.
There are no effective treatments for hepatitis A and E, but
they usually only last a couple of weeks. For hepatitis B, C,
and D, the only drugs that seem to help are interferon-alpha and
lamivudine (3TC), a drug used against HIV. A combination of interferon-alpha
and ribavirin was approved in 1998 for use against hepatitis C.
There are some newer drugs being tested against HIV that appear
to also help fight hepatitis B, C, and D.
HEPATITIS
Hepatitis caused by alcohol, drugs, or poisons leads to the same
symptoms as viral hepatitis. In these cases, the liver is not
damaged by a viral infection. The job of the liver is to break
down many substances in the blood, and it can get overloaded.
Some medications used to fight AIDS or related diseases can cause
hepatitis. So can the common painkiller, acetaminophen (Tylenol®).
The best treatment for these types of hepatitis is to stop
using alcohol or the drugs that are irritating the liver.
If hepatitis is caused by an opportunistic infection (OI) related
to AIDS, then the OI has to be controlled so that the liver can
heal.
The liver needs to be working properly to break down most drugs.
Drugs that didn’t cause you any problems when your liver was healthy
can make you very sick if you have hepatitis. This is also true
for alcohol, aspirin, herbs, and recreational drugs. Be sure your
doctor knows about all pills or supplements you are taking.
Two herbs seem to help with any form of hepatitis. One is licorice
(Glycyrrhiza glabra), often taken as capsules or as a tea. The
other is milk thistle (Silybum marianum), used as an extract or
a tea. Be sure to talk with your doctor or an experienced herbalist
before using licorice or milk thistle.
Reviewed March 29, 2001
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